Call To Arms Pt 3
by Ghostwriter
Summary: HISB The Rangers stage a rescue as Jason fights for his life in the Bardo World.
1. Chaos

CALL TO ARMS PT 3

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Well, it was never supposed to be this long, but here you have it. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplot, and characters you don't recognize. Reference to "A New Shade Of Power".

In the Angel Grove Community Hospital, Ryan and Tracey Scott watched anxiously as Jason's chest rose up and down with every breath.

"Shouldn't he have woken up by now?" Tracey asked.

"Well, the doctor did say that he had lost a lot of blood and the transfusions would take a lot out of him," Ryan reminded.

"I know," she sighed. "It's just strange to see him lying so still," she continued. _I just don't understand how this could've happened. How could he get into such a massive fight at a carnival, and how Katherine and the others haven't come to see him yet?_ she wondered.

"I know," he agreed with a sigh of his own. _Come on, Jase. You've gotta pull through_, he thought. Like his wife said, it was strange to see their usually active son lying so still on a hospital bed. The doctor came in and checked his vitals.

"Doctor, how is he?" Ryan asked.

"He's still stable, Mr. Scott. His vital signs look very promising," the doctor replied.

"So, how come he hasn't woken up?" Tracey wondered.

"I honestly don't know, Mrs. Scott. He's out of the danger zone and his brain activity's normal, but for some reason he's just not waking up," the doctor answered truthfully. The couple looked at each other worriedly. "Now, it could be that whatever he went through completely exhausted him and this is just his body's way of helping to heal itself, but that's just my own opinion," he continued. _Jason looked around. Where was he? Well, wherever he was, it seemed to be big on the martial arts. __What kind of trick is this?__ Jason wondered._

_ "Jason Lee Scott," a voice said. He turned to see a being that had the appearance of a female with a muscular build and dark, flowing hair._

_ "Who are you?" Jason asked, getting into a defensive stance._

_ "I am Lillandra, keeper of the Bardo World,"_ _she told him._

_"What, you mean like that place the Soul Stealer sent Adam and Kat?" he asked._

_ "Somewhat. Only, they were not actually in the Bardo plane so to them it just seemed like a great amount of space. When a soul is truly brought here, the Bardo switches its surroundings to match the person," Lillandra explained. _

_ "So everyone has a personal Bardo," Jason said._

_ "Precisely," Lillandra_ _confirmed. _

_"So, why am I here? Am I dead?" Jason questioned._

_ "Very near it. You lost a lot of blood, though the doctors were able to stabilize you," Lillandra_ _replied._

_ "And I'm here until you decide which direction I go in?" Jason surmised._

_ "In a sense. You're not so far that you'll automatically die," Lillandra responded._

_"Okay, now I'm confused," Jason admitted._

_ "While it's true that your injuries have placed you here. You have the option of deciding whether or not you go back," Lillandra told him. Jason stared in shock. He got to decide whether he lived or died?_ Meanwhile, the Rangers had left the Command Center and had gone to the hospital to avoid suspicion.

"How is he?" Kimberly asked.

"Stabilized but resting comfortably," Mrs. Scott answered. "It's just so hard seeing him so still," she continued, her voice breaking.

"I know," Kimberly said, giving the woman a tight hug. "But Jason's a fighter. He'll come back to all of us," she assured. The woman smiled.

"Thank you for that, Kimberly," she responded. _I'm glad she's being so positive_, she thought. "Why don't you kids go on in? One at a time?" she encouraged.

"Kat, why don't you go first?" Kimberly suggested.

"Are you sure?" Katherine asked. _After all, the last time he was in the hospital, it was my fault_, she thought to herself.

"She's right. Go ahead," Zack encouraged. Katherine went into the hospital room and bit back a gasp at seeing her boyfriend lying so still. _That's not normal_, she thought. However, she merely took a deep breath and sat in the chair.

"Jason, I don't know what to do. Please wake up. We need you," she said softly as she leaned forward and clasped his hand. Unnoticed by her, a small spark of Brown energy went into him. _Jason gasped as the brown energy latched on to him._

_ "It would appear that one of your friends is worried about you, Lillandra_ _commented. _

_ "It's Kat. Our brown Ranger. She's fairly new," Jason replied. "So how do I get back?" he asked. Lillandra started to respond._

_"Why would you want to do that?" a voice asked. Jason turned and-came to face-to-face with a hooded figure. For the second time, Jason got into a defensive stance._

_ "Who are you?" he_ _demanded._

_ "Who I am doesn't matter, the figure replied. "What matters_ _is admitting the truth to yourself," it continue_d. _Lillandra's eyes darkened and she charged at the figure. However, a wave of its hand caused her to_ _disappear. _ _Jason tensed, trying to figure out what was going on._

_ "Now then, Jason, if you want to leave, you're going to have to fight me," the figure_ _stated. Then, he lunged at the Red Ranger, who quickly flipped him over his shoulders. __What is going on here?__ he wondered as he prepared to fight the figure_ _again. The figure jumped to its feet and then charged, this time barely giving Jason a chance to attack_. In the hospital room, Katherine had pressed the call button and then had rejoined her friends in the waiting room.

"Kat, what happened?" Tommy asked urgently.

"I don't know. He was just lying there, and then all of a sudden, the machines just started beeping like crazy as if something had happened to him," Katherine responded, her voice breaking. She sniffled and Tommy quickly pulled her into a hug.

"Don't worry. He's strong. He'll pull through," he murmured. Kimberly smiled despite the situation. _He's such a great man_, she thought. His sweetness and willingness to shed his macho image by allowing his friends to show emotions was one of the many reasons that she loved him. Just then, their communicators went off. Tensing, the Rangers all went to the far end of the room where they'd be out of earshot of anybody else.

"Tommy here. What's up, Zordon?" Tommy asked.

"The situation with Dark Heart has gotten even more. Rangers, you **must** fight him," Zordon reported and the Rangers looked at each other worriedly.


	2. Battle Plan

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplot, and characters you don't recognize.

"Tommy, we have to do **some**thing. I mean, we can't let Dark Heart run loose and we still have to rescue the others too," Kimberly pointed out. The other Rangers blew out a breath and looked at each other. She was right.

"I hate to say it, but I think we're going to have to split up," Tommy commented. Kimberly blew out another breath.

"Wow. That's not something we do on a regular basis," she stated.

"I know. But there's nothing we can do here and Angel Grove needs us," her boyfriend reminded.

"You're right," she agreed. Tommy motioned for the others to follow him and they went to a secluded corner, where they quietly morphed and then went their separate ways, the Green and White Ranger, the Black Ranger, the Brown Ranger, and the Purple Ranger appearing at one end of the fairgrounds, while the Blue, Gold, Yellow, Pink, and Silver Rangers went to rescue their friends.

"Magic Wand, make my monster grow!" Electricity crackled from Rita's wand and Lion Heart roared as the energy enlarged him.

"Drago-Tigerzord!"

"Raptor Thunderzord Power!"

"Mastodon-Lion Thunderzord Power!"

"Stega Thunderzord Power!" As soon as the zords arrived, the Rangers jumped into them and then immediately fired their weapons. Dark Heart roared in pain as he stumbled back. Then, he brandished his sword and charged at the machines. He wasn't going to let these teenagers win. He'd be victorious for his Queen! The Gold, Yellow, Pink, and Silver Rangers quietly made their way across the fairgrounds. Hopefully, Rita was still sticking close to Dark Heart to watch the action. If so, they'd be able to free their friends with no problem. Hearing some voices, they quickened their pace. Presently, they came upon their friends, who were stuck in a bounce house that was being guarded by a swarm of Putties. The Pink Ranger motioned for the Gold, Yellow, and Silver Rangers to surround the bounce house, which was done. Then, one-by-one, they attacked the Putties.

"The Power Rangers!" Tyler cried in relief.

"Yes!" Hilary and Trini cheered.

"All right!" Curtis and Richie chorused. They watched as the Putties finally disappeared. Then, they headed for the exit.

"Thanks for the save. We didn't wanna risk anyone getting hurt if we tried to escape," Tina commented as she came out.

"You did the right thing," the Silver Ranger assured. "Now go! Get out of here!" he urged and the group headed out.

"Wait! I have a partner on the Junior Police Patrol-Jason Scott-I can't just leave him," Tyler said.

"We'll find him. Just go!" the Gold Ranger instructed. Justin pulled a reluctant Tyler away.

"Come on. Let's join the others," the Pink Ranger stated and they teleported to the site where they called for their zords and joined the attack. Dark Heart roared at the intrusion and intensified his attacks. Rita narrowed her eyes when she saw the rest of the Rangers there. _Why would they all be here when-_her thought faltered when she realized she had left her hostages unguarded except for her Putties. Angry at herself for her slip, she clutched her wand, summoned energy to it, and then shot the energy at the Rangers who cried out in shock as the energy bolt hit the zords and the machines shook. Meanwhile, at the Angel Grove Community Hospital, doctors and nurses were frantically trying to re-stabilize Jason as his parents watched anxiously.

"Come on, kid! Don't you do this to us! Fight!" a doctor encouraged. _Jason barely dodged a blow as his opponent faked a left side-kick and then lashed out with a right side-kick._ _Man! This guy seems to know what I'm going to do! But only Tommy's ever been able to match me like this!_ _he thought. But why would Tommy be fighting him_ _here? The hooded figure let out a dark laugh, somewhat similar to the evil Green Ranger's laugh, and yet…it didn't sound like_ him. _The hooded figure ducked to the ground and then stretched his leg out, knocking Jason onto his back. The figure let out another laugh as he placed a boot-clad foot on Jason's chest, pinning him to the ground._

"He's crashing!" a nurse shouted.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Come on, kid! Don't you give up on me! You hear me! Don't you die on me!" the doctor shouted as he and his team continued working. Tracey and Ryan looked at each other worriedly.

"I can't-I can't lose him, Ryan. I just can't," Tracey said tearfully.

"Sssshhhhh, ssssshhhhh, don't think like that, Trace. Jason's fighting, I know he is," Ryan soothed, pulling her into a hug. However, his eyes held his own worry. Back at the fairgrounds, the Rangers were still fighting Dark Heart and had put the zords together to form the Thunder Megazord, with Alpha sending in the Tyrannosaurus-Red Dragon Thunderzord via the Command Center.

"This is crazy! No matter what we do, we can't hit him!" the Black Ranger exclaimed after a while.

"Come on, keep fighting!" the Green and White Ranger encouraged. However, underneath his helmet, his eyes held worry. His friend was right. No matter what they tried, they couldn't land a successful hit on the monster or gain the upper hand. _Man, what would Jason do if he was here?_ he wondered. He blew out a breath and he moved the controls, blocking a strike from the monster. They had to figure this out. They couldn't let the monster or Rita defeat them. From underneath his helmet, Tommy's eyes flashed in determination. He was going to defeat Rita if it was the last thing he ever did. With new determination, he maneuvered the Thunder Megazord so that its slashes with the Thunder Saber were quick and furious, barely giving Dark Heart a chance to get in attack. The lion roared, summoned energy to his sword, and shot it at the Rangers while Rita began chanting a spell.

"What's going on?" the Purple Ranger wondered nervously.

"Other than Rita being up to something, I've got no clue," the Pink Ranger replied. _Okay, just stay calm, Kim. We've come this far. We can still make it_, she reassured herself. As Rita continued chanting, the Rangers saw energy envelop Dark Heart.

"She's reenergizing him!" the Black Ranger realized. Underneath his helmet, the Green and White Ranger's eyes flashed once more as he powered up the Thunder Saber. Then, he shot the energy at the witch, knocking the staff from her hands. Before she could get her bearings, the Thunder Saber-which was flowing with energy from the Morphing Grid-came crashing down on the scepter. Rita's eyes widened in shock and horror as her staff exploded. Her eyes blazed in fury. _I'll have to admit, that was a good move, Tommy, but it won't be enough to save you or your pathetic Power Puke friends_, she thought to herself and she continued chanting. She didn't really need the staff to reenergize Dark Heart, though it **had** made things a bit easier. Dark Heart rushed at the Rangers, only to be knocked back by a blast from the Thunder Saber.

"So, how exactly do we destroy him? Nothing we do seems to penetrate him," the Gold Ranger pointed out. Underneath their helmets, the other Rangers' eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"He zaps people of his goodness, right?" the Pink Ranger questioned suddenly.

"Right," the other Rangers confirmed.

"What if we overload him?" the Pink Ranger suggested.

"What do you mean?" the Silver Ranger questioned.

"Of course, an influx of goodness would require him to use an insurmountable amount of power and may just weaken him," the Blue Ranger realized.

"Exactly," the Pink Ranger confirmed.

"It's a valid hypothesis. I say we put it to the test…as soon as we figure out how to get him back to his former size," the Blue Ranger suggested. The Green and White Ranger nodded. They had no proof that what his girlfriend was proposing would actually work, but they had to get out of this stalemate **somehow**. But how were they going to pull it off? Then, before they knew what was happening, Dark Heart let out a terrific energy blast, shaking the Thunder Megazord. With cries of surprise, the Rangers fell from the zords. Rita laughed in delight. Now she could have Dark Heart destroy the Rangers.

"Dark Heart! Drain them!" she ordered. At his size, he'd strip away their goodness in no time. The lion bent down to pick them up and the Rangers immediately pulled out their Power Weapons and started firing. Dark Heart let out a confused growl. What were these Rangers doing? He was too big for their weapons to have any effect on him. He lashed out with his sword, nearly hitting the Rangers, who kept firing. Presently, he noticed himself shrinking. _What's going on?_ the monster wondered. Rita frantically started saying a spell, but it was no use. Dark Heart just kept on shrinking until he was at regular size. Then, the Rangers surrounded him. With a roar, Dark Heart lunged at the group and then grabbed the Green and White Ranger. A few seconds later, he began to groan. Rita grinned widely. Soon, Tommy would be hers once more.


	3. Dark Heart's End

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplot, and characters you don't recognize.

The Green and White Ranger groaned once again as he felt energy flow into him and envelop him. _Fight!_ he urged himself. Then, the Pink Ranger quickly grabbed Dark Heart who focused his attention on her. One-by-one, the other Rangers grabbed the monster, who focused his attention on them. He grinned in delight. These stupid Rangers had no idea what they were doing. Empress Rita would be pleased that he managed to turn practically the whole team. The Rangers groaned and then reached out to connect with one another. They just had to hold on. They could do this. Dark Heart continued to drain the Rangers holding him. _Yes! Empress will be pleased!_ he thought. Then, suddenly, a powerful wave of good energy coursed through him. _Wha-what's going on?_ he wondered. Rita's eyes widened as she saw beams of the Rangers' colors enveloped Dark Heart and she began saying a spell. However, the Rangers' energy came too fast. With a final roar, Dark Heart exploded in a show of sparks.

"NOOOOO!" Rita shrieked. _I can't believe they destroyed him!_ she fumed. With a wave of her hands, she began saying a spell. If she couldn't get rid of the Rangers with a monster, she'd get rid of them personally. A gust of wind burst up and headed for the Rangers.

"What's going on?" the Gold Ranger wondered.

"I don't know!" the Green and White Ranger replied. They all quickly pressed their communicators and just barely made it to the Command Center.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! That was close!" Alpha exclaimed as the Rangers took off their helmets and then leaned against the consoles.

"How are you feeling Rangers?" Zordon asked as Alpha took out a gun-like device and began scanning them.

"Okay, Zordon, but I don't want to do that ever again," Tommy responded.

"Sorry Tommy. I didn't think it'd drain us like this. Guess it really wasn't a good idea," Kimberly apologized.

"No, it was a great idea and it worked," Rocky assured her. The gun beeped.

"What's that?" Zack questioned.

"You'll be fine, Rangers. The drain you're feeling now won't last very long," Alpha assured. The Rangers let out a collective sigh. _Oh, what a relief_, Katherine thought to herself.

"Thanks, Alpha," Trini said.

"No problem," Alpha replied.

"So, now that we've destroyed Dark Heart and saved our friends, Rita's probably thinking of some other way to destroy us. What do we do to prepare for her next strike?" Adam wondered.

"I'm not sure," Tommy replied. Up on the moon, Rita's eyes shone furiously as she began casting a spell. She wasn't going to give up. The Rangers hadn't won yet and they weren't going to. On Earth, thunder rumbled and lightning crashed. Seconds later, the Lunar Palace shifted from its spot on the moon and traveled towards Earth, which rumbled from the movement. In the Command Center, the Rangers braced themselves against the consoles as the place shook and the alarms blared.

"What's going on?" Rocky asked.

"It's Rita! She must be moving her palace to Earth again!" Kimberly surmised.

"I fear you are correct, Kimberly," Zordon replied. _Ohhhh….I don't like this. Not one little bit_, Kimberly thought to herself. _Not good! Not good! I don't know if I can do this!_ Tommy thought frantically. He looked around to see the same fear and uncertainty on the faces of the other Rangers. In her palace, Rita laughed evilly. Now that she was on Earth, her powers had increased _Soon, the Earth will be all mine!_ she thought gleefully, gazing at the Earth, her eyes shining maliciously.


	4. Bardo Fights

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplot, and characters you don't recognize.

In the Angel Grove Community Hospital, doctors had finally managed to stabilize Jason.

"Oh, thank goodness," the doctor sighed in relief. They hadn't lost the kid. But it had been close. His levels were still somewhat high, but at least they were now manageable. Out in the waiting room, Bulk, Skull, Richie, Angela, Curtis, Justin, Hilary, Chris, Tina, Zane, and Tyler were waiting anxiously.

"Do you think he's okay?" Tina asked.

"Of course he's okay. He's strong. He's gonna keep fighting," Tyler assured. _Come on, Jason. Don't do this to us_, he thought, running his fingers through his hair worriedly. Seeing this, Skull put a hand on Tyler's shoulder.

"He'll be okay," he said. The other boy shook his head.

"I never should've left him. We're partners. I shouldn't have left him there."

"You had a responsibility to the fairgoers. You did the right thing." Tyler's eyes clouded, but he didn't answer. Curtis walked up to the Scotts.

"He'll be okay. You'll see," he assured. The couple flashed him a smile.

"Thank you, Curtis," Tracey said, and then drew him into a hug. The boy returned the gesture.

"Do you want me to call the others? You know, my aunt and uncle, Mr. Cranston…?"

"Oh, I didn't even think of think of that."

"I'll do it." The teens watched as Curtis quietly got out of the hug and then went to a phone, dialed a number, and waited. _In the Bardo World, Jason's opponent had suddenly disappeared. __Whoa. Weird__, Jason thought. Lillandra rematerialized._

_ "Are you all right?" she asked._

_ "Yeah. Who was that?" he responded. _

_ "I would assume it was the person who doesn't want you to live," came the_ _answer. Jason blew out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair. What was he going to do? He didn't want to die. And if defeating this mysterious figure was the only way to get out, he'd do_ _it. __Come on, Jason. Think! How are you going to get out of this?__ the boy asked himself. _

_ "He will not be your only challenge. You will have to face your own demons," she told him._

_"What do you mean?" he wondered._

_ "I'm sorry, but I am not allowed to say. I must not influence your decision," she told him and then disappeared. Jason let out a frustrated breath and his eyes clouded. Face his own demons? What did that_ _mean? He began walking and suddenly found himself in some sort of_ _corridor. __Okay, weird…even by our standards__, he mused._ _He continued walking. All of a sudden the room started to shake._

_"Huh? What?" Then, he heard an all-too-familiar laugh and his eyes widened. What was Goldar doing here? He was grabbed from behind and thrown_ back. _To his surprise, Goldar appeared in front of him, sword_ _brandished. Jason began to scramble to his feet, but the griffin knocked him down again. Then, before he could get his bearings, Goldar bent down, grabbed his neck, and slammed him against the_ _wall and then laughed._

_ "You're forgetting Jason, I'm stronger and powerful than you. It's why I was able to stop you from saving Tommy's Powers. You are no match for me, and never will be," he_ _jeered. Jason's eyes flashed in anger. "If you were any kind of a warrior, you never would've ended up here," he continued._

_ "Killed __**you**__," the Ranger managed to rasp_ _out. Not expecting the response, Goldar's grip loosened and Jason managed to break free. Jason fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Then, quickly catching his breath, he jumped to his feet and got into a defensive_ _stance. Goldar came at him and Jason lashed out with a kick. The griffin roared and brought his sword down in a swift strike. Jason immediately bent down and somersaulted out of the_ _way. Then, he turned around, reached out a leg, and tripped the creature. Before Goldar knew what was happening, Jason had grabbed his sword and placed it on his_ _back._

_ "You lose Goldar," he snapped. Then, the griffin and the sword disappeared. __Whoa! That must've been one of my challenges here_ _he thought and continued on his way. Presently, he came upon two doors. He frowned. Which door should he open? He looked to the door on the left, then to the door on the right_. _He stood there for a few minutes before finally making his decision and opening the door on the right_. _Well, here goes nothing__, he_ _thought. He then began walking down the hall, which continued for several_ minutes. _All of a sudden, he heard groaning. __Huh?__ he wondered._ _What was that? It sounded like someone was in pain. But who would be in here? He was the only one who was about to_ _die. He followed the sound until suddenly-a large green candle was right in front of him!_

_ "NO!" Jason shouted. He didn't want to relive this! How could he face the fact that he had failed? Hearing a groan, he whirled around to see Tommy on his knees. "Tommy!" he exclaimed, rushing towards him. The boy looked up._

_ "Why, Jason? Why didn't you get it? Why didn't you morph before trying to retrieve the candle? Why didn't you take some back up? Why'd you let my Powers get stolen?" he asked, the questions coming in a rapid succession. Jason found that he couldn't respond. These were all questions that he constantly asked himself. He had always prided himself on thinking things through and making good strategies to gain an advantage in any situation, and yet, when it had really counted, he had messed up…big time._

_ "I-I don't know, Tommy. It was a mistake plain and simple. I messed up, I know that. If I had gone in smart, I could've saved your powers," he_ _answered. Tommy stood up._

_ "You have to stop blaming yourself. It wasn't your fault," he told him._

_ "Wha-"_

_ "Jason, you've done so much good since you've become a Ranger. Don't let one failure haunt you. It wasn't your fault. It was Rita. All Rita." Jason let out a shaky breath. "You have to forgive yourself and come to terms with what happened." Jason nodded._

_ "You're right. Under the circumstances, I did my best. I fought hard. Goldar just happened to be better." Tommy flashed him a grin and then disappeared, as did the_ _candle. __So weird__, Jason thought to himself. He hadn't even realized that he was still feeling guilty about not saving Tommy's_ _Powers. He continued on his way. __I wonder what else I'll have to face__, he mused. However, for several minutes, he walked down the corridor without being attacked in_ some _way. Then, without warning, he felt somebody jump him from behind! Jason quickly reached up, grabbed their arm, and threw them over his shoulder. Jason's eyes widened. It was that hooded figure_ _again! The figure jumped to their feet, turned around, and then lashed out with a kick that Jason expertly blocked. Soon, they were locked in an intense combat, each trying to gain the upper hand and failing. __Man! Who is this guy?__ Jason wondered_. _Finally, he was able to kick the figure away._

"_Okay! Enough is enough! Who are you!" Jason demanded. The figure removed his hood and Jason found himself face-to-face with himself._

_ TO BE CONTINUED… _


End file.
